Fifth time getting viral meningitis

[BeautifulDisastr74]

Hi there. I thought I’ve been going crazy because of all these symptoms I’ve been left with. I just got out of the hospital with viral meningitis and Th. on my brain .. (2nd time with that) fifth time with viral meningitis... Has anyone else had it that many times? And what can I expect to look forward too as far as continuing side effects

[OfAllTheLuck]

Hi! I've had it four times in about 8 years. For me, it has been a frustrating time. Two years ago, I started having bouts of vertigo. My neurologist believes a nerve in my inner ear was damaged during my last episode of VM. It is permanent damage. Therapy helped retrain my brain to balance under the new circumstances. I deal with frequent fatigue, headaches and tinnitus.

Side effects will always vary from person to person. Some people may not have any and others may not be as lucky.

[BeautifulDisastr74 in reply to OfAllTheLuck]

Wow...i guess its not as rare as i thought. And i too suffer from frequent fatigue and headaches. My memory is worse and as well as concentration amd im alot more clumsy and off balance more than normal...the last 2 episodes i had encephalitis as well so i wonder if that too has alot to do with my headaches and memory? I hope you continue to get better and thank you for reaching out

[Jonad724]

This is actually more common than you think, there is a name for recurrent aseptic viral meningitis (aseptic meaning it's not contagious) and that is Mollaret's. It is rare but if you are on Facebook there is a dedicated group to Mollaret's. I was diagnosed with it in 2010 after a three year battle with my GP who told me I couldn't possibly have it because it was so rare. Having 4-5 VM attacks a year in the end persuaded him.

If you search on Facebook for Recurrent Meningitis Association that should bring up the group. They dropped the Mollaret's in the title because not all recurrent episode come under that heading.

I am a volunteer community ambassador for Meningitis Now with a special interest in VM and recurrent VM so if I can help at all please do PM me.

Take care, Jonathan

[BeautifulDisastr74 in reply to Jonad724]

So does this mean im going to keep gettimg this? The last 2 times i had encephalitis on my brain too and that worries me. Me

My memory and headaches and fatigue are constantly gettimg worse it seems. Although i have suffered from headaches all my life but they seem worse amd more frequent...it makes me feel lazy when all i want to do is sleep. Thank you for reaching out as well. Take care

[Jonad724 in reply to BeautifulDisastr74]

It's difficult to say if I'm honest, it may settle down or if it helps try to keep a bullet point diary each day about things you have done which can help track to see if there are any common triggers. Could be meeting with boss, v. stressful for example which if this then follows on to an attack gives you an indication, it worked for me.

You are not being lazy by wanting to rest and sleep, if you had broken your leg you wouldn't say you were being lazy by not running a marathon on it would you?

I live with a permanent headache, and some other after effects, which varies in intensity and again tracking common patterns helps to show what the triggers are. By making it a bullet point list it's not that onerous. The encephalitis may need medical attention because it may not be related to the VM at all, or it could be, but you may need to be persistent with doctors as do have a habit of dismissing VM as a minor illness. Please do keep in touch, I'm always happy to help.